iPhone developers band together for App Treasures label

With the App Store growing at an astounding rate and having over 40,000 apps on offer, being seen in the crowd is getting ever more difficult. Apple may be about to do something about that with the release of the iPhone OS 3.0, but some independent iPhone game developers have decided to try and make their apps more appealing by combining forces.

A new label called App Treasures has been created that brings together the talents of five developers who have already seen success in the App Store. They include:

Each of those games will be updated to include the App Treasures label, but also to allow users playing one of the games to take a look at the others in the App Treasures range. Owen Goss of Streaming Colour Studios explained:

One of the really exciting things we’re doing is allowing players to browse other App Treasures games from inside our games. The Dapple 1.2 update contains a new feature that lets you browse the other App Treasures games, read about them, and then buy them. Other App Treasures games will be rolling this feature out over the coming weeks as well.

By combining forces they not only hope to improve sales, but also build trust with users that the App Treasures label means quality and becomes associated with games that they like. With that in mind all games released under the App Treasures label will have to meet certain criteria. New games from new develoeprs are also expected to join the label soon.

Matthew’s Opinion
Creating a label under which games are released is what publishers on other platforms have been doing for years. But things are different on iPhone as it is such a young platform. There are no established publishers, instead there are just thousands of apps vying for your attention.

What App Treasures is attempting can be compared to what some of the online game portals have done. Take Big Fish Games, for example, who offer games under their label from loads of different developers and even have a club membership. Gamers go there regularly because they know what to expect and like the games on offer. App Treasures is very similar and is definitely a first on the iPhone.

The key to App Treasures working relies on a number of different factors. Quality of games is the obvious one, but the experience of accessing other games and buying them from within a game on the iPhone is just as crucial, as is their online presence and promotion. Hopefully they will see success and we’ll start seeing other labels appear on the App Store before too long.